China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Hometown tribute
Karl Marx’s statue in his hometown infuses philosopher’s soul with art, writes its sculptor Wu Weishan.
Karl Marx honored with statue as 200th anniversary of his birth nears
In the history of human civilization, people have erected statues to show their recognition of human values and to celebrate men of special significance.
Thus, Western history can be read through sculptures, which aren’t just about aesthetic appreciation but also have cultural and epochal value.
On the 200th anniversary of Karl Marx’s birth, a bronze statue of Marx, at a height of 5.5 meters, will find its home in a public square in Trier, Germany, Marx’s hometown on Saturday.
The statue also reflects the city’s profound historical and cultural traditions.
As the sculptor of the bronze statue, I’m proud that its appearance in Trier has drawn global attention. As history has entrusted me the mission to infuse the philosopher’s soul with art, it is not only about conveying personal style and emotions, but also the friendship between Chinese and Germans.
Recalling the two years of the creating process of the statue arouses waves of emotions in me.
The story began with my trip to Trier in January 2016, with respect and dreams of decades.
As one of the oldest cities in Germany, Trier got fame as early as 2,000 years ago during the Roman times. The river Moselle slowly winds through, reflecting the city’s elegance and primitive simplicity. The red sandstone hills and warm purple forests under the winter sunshine echo with Roman architecture, whose poetic tone reminds me of the early Renaissance oil paintings.
Having witnessed numerous pedestrians coming and going for thousands of years, the stone roads are burnished with sheen. The holy melody of the church organs and the slow rhythm of life tell the city’s long history. All of these are filled with the historical and cultural profoundness of the great man’s birthplace.
Wolfram Leibe, the Lord Mayor, Andreas Ludwig, the director of the city’s planning department, and all the citizens I saw were in high spirits.
At Karl Marx House, the former residence of Marx, I sensed why a member of the lawyer family was born with the genes of reason and logic. Marx had spent his childhood and a part of his teenage life in Trier before he went to the University of Bonn at the age of 17, and later studied law at the University of Berlin, where he was fascinated by philosophy and history.
Step by step, he walked toward the forefront of European culture and then made his way into the world.
That was when I came up with the concept of the Marx statue. Accompanied by the mayor, we went to the designated location of the statue. Knowing that the city has invited a Chinese artist for the statue, some of my German peers had come from Berlin. And, a number of journalists, citizen representatives and role-players of Marx were there, too.
In Germany, it requires social participation, repeated public discussions in media and a vote through parliament to build a statue in public spaces.
Facing the media and the public, I talked about Marx’s commitment to the dedication of happiness for all, his perseverance in search for the truth, his calmness when overcoming adversity in his life, as well as his optimism and confidence for enriching his life. Marx had been voted “the greatest thinker of the millennium” by BBC News Online readers and topped several lists of the greatest philosophers in history, which made Germany proud.
For a century Chinese society has achieved great progress by combining Marxism with Chinese social realities.
In that sense, a Marx statue by a Chinese sculptor will become a bond of friendship between China and Germany.
As a Chinese artist, I grew up with a portrait of Marx at home. His iconic hairstyle and moustache, as well as the thoughtful expressions had found their way to my heart and soul.
Images of a man change according to different stages in his life. As the first large outdoor sculpture of the city, I intended to conform it to Marx’s identity as a great thinker and philosopher and meanwhile apply an image that had represented Chinese people’s impression of him.
I wanted the statue to be located in an open space. Unlike statues of Egyptian pharaohs, the Buddha and any other religious icon, or politician statues with gestures, the statue of Marx should emphasize his greatness as an ordinary human being.
I thought of him being seated or standing, but later decided on a forward movement of the statue, considering that his ideas have played a role not only in his time but also in the future.
I appreciated it that the mayor respected my design. And Ludwig accompanied me in the rain, deciding on the location and height of the statue.
Finally, we decided that the statue would be located in front of the city museum, near Porta Nigra, the Roman architecture, with Karl Marx House just 200 meters away. Obviously, the statue, the height of which was preliminarily determined at about 6 meters, would integrate with the environment.
With a consensus on the statue, the Germans toasted me goodbye with local wine and I wrote: “The hometown of a great man — our permanent spiritual home.”
And the mayor wrote that the statue of Karl Marx will build a golden bridge between China and Germany.
Soon after returning to China, I started my creation. In fact, I have created quite a few statues of Marx in recent years, continuously studying literature and consulting researchers of Marxist philosophy during the process. The accumulation of experience allowed me to compare from multiple perspectives and find an accurate positioning and way of expression.
With inspiration from Marx’s hometown, I created a 60-centimeter-high maquette, which presented Marx wearing an overcoat and walking against the wind with a book in his hand. His hair and beard were rich, consistent with his facial expression and pace. The base is designed as a polygon, symbolizing the life course of Marx: Trier, Bonn, Berlin, Paris, Brussels and London.
Experts in Trier recognized the design, praising that it incorporates the spirit of Marx.
Soon, Leibe came to my studio in Beijing. After seeing the 60-centimeter-high maquette and a 2.3-meter-high intermediate model, he was pleased to say that Karl Marx has come to life again and his philosophy has been visualized in the 21st century.
According to Leibe, Trier has erected a 6.9-meter-high statue based on my design after soliciting public opinions. He had personally spent one day traveling by bus and getting public feedback. The design was accepted by the vast majority and won 42 votes from the total 53 at the city council, with four abstentions. The suggestions were merely to readjust the height of the statue in order to fit the display space.
Later, I had multiple face-toface and video interactions on the size of the statue. We determined that the statue should be 4.6 meters in height and the base should be 90 centimeters, adding up to 5.5 meters, which indicates Marx’s birthday and suits the overall environment.
In January 2017, Ludwig visited my studio along with art and engineering experts and German journalists. Boarding the 4.6-meter-high scaffold and facing the final model of Marx’s statue, he told the reporters, “This is Marx in our hearts!”
Those who were present saw that Marx’s figure resembles mountain ranges and earth, and even the folds of his coat flow with natural grace. I told them that it is inspired by the beautiful landscape of Trier and the freehand brushwork of
It (making the statue) is not only about conveying personal style and emotions, but also the friendship between Chinese and Germans.”
Chinese art. The lines of Chinese calligraphy and the Moselle River endow the statue with the spirituality of art.
When creating the statue, I merged Western realism and Chinese impressionism. Western realistic sculptures from ancient Greece and Rome have provided me with a sharp knife to bring out the character’s physical form and spirit, whereas the Chinese impressionism gave me wings to freely express poetic sentiments.
What I always strive for is to turn my statues into poetic philosophy.
Ludwig is a highly accomplished architect and urban planner, who is passionate and rational. After seeing the statue, he wrote that he was pleased to witness turning a concept into reality. “What we see and sense is pure sublimity. The works of Marx are revived. Professor Wu’s statue teems with vitality,” he adds.
Though it was winter, the studio was warm with passion, friendship, art and philosophy. In front of the statue of Karl Marx, China and Germany made spiritual conversations on art.
After the statue was finalized and shipped to Shanxi province for casting, I was still concerned.
The clay model was made indoors, so the outdoor lighting might result in visual deviations in the shape of the statue.
To ensure its outdoor visual effect, I transported the model back to Beijing and modified it in an outdoor square. It was the beginning of February when Beijing was between -8 C and -12 C. I climbed up and down the scaffold in the chilly wind and shaped the model with plaster. After 5 hours of continuous work, my hands almost froze.
In the early morning of Feb 28, the bronze casting was completed and the statue was about to be transported to Germany via a large aircraft. I went to the airport to see off the statue and waited on the apron from 1 am to 5 am. Just when the day started dawning, the plane slowly taxied and quickly took off, carrying the best wishes of the Chinese people.
The bronze statue of Karl Marx has been erected in his hometown! It has been 200 years from Marx’s birth to the statue’s erection.
Life is limited but the spirit is infinite. The book in Marx’s hand and the path under his feet have fully proved that mankind will continue to advance on its own wisdom and strength.
Wu Weishan, director of the National Art Museum of China